# Sins of the father **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 19, 2000, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-the-father/46392 "2000-12-19T18:51:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-the-father/46392/1 "2000-12-19T18:51:14Z")
I heard that expression this morning. My co-workers were discussing dog breeds, which dogs are meaner than others and why. Somehow they began equating rottweilers and pitbulls with people in prison, then with alcoholics. One co-worker said some breeds are just born with bad blood, bad genes, just like alcoholics, then asked where that alcoholic gene came from. Before anyone could answer, she answered herself, “You and I know what the Bible says: The sins of the father are visited up on the son.” How nice, I didn’t realize the Bible explained genetics. I inherited muscular dystrophy from my father. Tell me, what sin did he commit that is being visited upon me? My father’s parents didn’t have muscular dystrophy; I assumed he had it because of a mutation but apparently a sin of theirs was visited upon him in the form of muscular dystrophy. That makes _so much more sense_! I should tell her that’s where black babies come from. Ham saw Noah naked and ran and told his brothers. Noah cursed Ham and his descendants to be the slaves of his brothers, so traditionally that was the justification for enslaving the Africans. Should she be reminded that her ex-husband and their children still carry the mark of the sin of their fathers? Isn’t turnabout fair play? No, of course not, I’m just hurting. This has been a rough morning and I don’t think anyone can do or say anything right today. But her startling ignorance really hurt and I wished I could hurt her back. I won’t, I just wanted to vent. Again. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-the-father/46392/2 "2000-12-19T19:17:00Z")
Kat, next time she starts spewing this crap, ask her what sin her dad committed? It must have been pretty greivous for her head to have become lodged so far up her ass. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-the-father/46392/3 "2000-12-19T19:22:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by magdalene \* > \*\*Kat, next time she starts spewing this crap, ask her what sin her dad committed? It must have been pretty greivous for her head to have become lodged so far up her ass. > > \*\* LOL! Thanks, magdalene, I take back what I said about no one being able to say the right thing today 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-the-father/46392/4 "2000-12-20T02:20:22Z")
Where in the bible is “the sins of the fathers shall be visited on the children”? Of all the misquoted crap that gets flung around by the ignorant, that’s one of the most offensive. Deuteronomy 24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin. And Ezekiel 18:20 "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. I dropped “sin” and “father” into four different bible search engines and did not find anything resembling the “quote” you co-worker thinks she knows. Ask her to look it up next time. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-the-father/46392/5 "2000-12-20T03:08:00Z")
Well, it _is_ in there, if not an exact “sins of the father” quote. Still, it’s worthwhile to throw the Deuteronomy and Ezekial references in her face, she’ll be so confused maybe she’ll shut up. This is what she was probably referring to, aside from the aforementioned Ham: Exod 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.